NFL foes target Seahawks Jamal Adams in coverage for big plays when he’s not blitzing
Through five, mostly poor defensive games for the Seahawks, this much is clear:
The book around the NFL on Jamal Adams is like receivers he’s been defending.
Wide open.
That book says if Seattle’s not blitzing Adams, which it isn’t nearly as much this season, throw right at him. Send wide receivers, tight ends, anyone in a different-colored uniform at the All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowl safety and test his skills guarding passes in flight and receivers’ routes.
The results: The Seahawks have allowed at least 450 yards in four straight games, including 476 by the Los Angeles Rams Thursday night in Seattle’s latest defeat at home, 26-17. That is the longest streak of allowing 450 or more yards in Seahawks’ history, and tied for the longest streak in NFL history.
That’s not all on Adams.
But it’s most noticeably against Adams.
“We got sh** we need to fix,” Pro Bowl safety Quandre Diggs said, “and everybody knows that.
“At the end of the day, you either do your job, or you’re not ready for this type of atmosphere. That’s just plain and simple.”
Also plain and simple: Seahawks defensive-minded coach Pete Carroll and coordinator Ken Norton Jr. need to scheme around having Adams in coverage — perhaps by taking him out of it and into blitzing and playing closer to the line of scrimmage more often.
Last season Adams was blitzing too much. He set an NFL record for a defensive back with 9 1/2 sacks, and that’s why the Seahawks traded two first-round picks to the New York Jets to get him last year. That’s why he got a four-year contract worth $70 million with $38 million guaranteed.
But that left about 90% of the time Adams didn’t bring down a quarterback that Diggs was exposed solo on the back end of the defense in 2020. Seattle gave up mammoth pass plays until two-time Pro Bowl rush end Carlos Dunlap arrived in a trade from Cincinnati and began transforming the pass rush in November. The Seahawks got more pressure up front by linemen, so they blitzed Adams less late in the season. The big plays allowed reduced considerably.
This season, Adams is blitzing more than a third less frequently. He has no sacks and no quarterback hits through five games. For that matter, he has only one pass defensed this season. Entering Thursday’s game he had allowed 10 receptions in 17 targets this season, according to Pro Football Focus.
That’s not why the Seahawks just signed Adams this summer to the richest contract for a safety in NFL history.
What the Rams did
Rams coach Sean McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford went right at Adams on two keys plays in Thursday night’s game. On a third and 10 in the third quarter with Seattle leading 7-3 and mostly throttling Los Angeles’ offense, receiver DeSean Jackson ran a deep post route. Seahawks left cornerback Sidney Jones, making his second Seattle start, turned and ran with Jackson then appeared to release him to Adams’ deeper, zone coverage.
Adams got turned around while Stafford’s pass was in the air. Adams looked over one shoulder, spun around and looked over the other shoulder. By then, Jackson had adjusted to the underthrown ball and caught it 3 yards in front of the back-pedaling Adams. Jackson kept running, around Diggs across the field to the left all the way to the Seahawks 12-yard line. Instead of punting down 7-3, the Rams took that 68-yard gain and turned it into a touchdown two plays later for their first lead.
“We can’t have guys third and 10 and we give up big plays like that,” Diggs said.
“That’s unacceptable.”
The previous game, at San Francisco, Diggs and Jones were involved on a miscommunication and blown zone coverage that resulted in Deebo Samuel running free down the right sideline for a lonely, 76-yard touchdown catch and run.
Later in the third quarter Thursday, from the Seahawks 13-yard line, tight end Tyler Higbee was lined up in the right slot. He ran a simple out route of about 15 yards, running right at Adams, then easily breaking outside of the safety in the end zone. Stafford’s throw was a relatively uncontested, 13-yard touchdown with Adams three steps behind Higbee as the ball arrived.
Carroll particularly regretted two big crossing routes in the fourth quarter that were huge losses of opportunity.
The Seahawks had cut the Rams’ lead to 16-14 on a remarkable, 98-yard touchdown drive by three-years-cold Geno Smith off the bench for the injured Russell Wilson. On the ensuing possession, Rams running back Sony Michel wiped out blitzing Seahawks linebacker Jordyn Brooks with a great pass block. That allowed Stafford time to watch wide receiver Robert Woods (12 catches, 150 yards) run a crossing route behind linebacker Darrell Taylor and in front of Adams. Adams appeared to have middle-of-the-field zone responsibility but was outside Bobby Wagner as the middle linebacker ran with wide receiver Cooper Kupp deep.
Seattle momentum stopped.
Where was Ryan Neal?
In a five-week stretch of what can charitably be called soft “coverage” by Seattle’s shredded defense, Adams wasn’t alone.
The Rams exploited the Seahawks keeping Brooks on the field in coverage, instead of using Ryan Neal as much as they had the previous week as a sixth defensive back. Neal was the best Seahawks defensive player on the field last weekend at San Francisco. He made four stops on third downs including two on 49ers star tight end George Kittle. That was as many third-down stops as the entire Seattle defense had the week before in giving up 453 yards while losing at Minnesota.
Neal played his first 26 defensive snaps this season at San Francisco last weekend.
Thursday, he was in for six plays.
Adams blitzed just three times in the Rams’ 38 times dropping back to pass.
Instead of using six DBs, even unconventionally on early downs to dare McVay to run, Carroll and Norton decided to sink or swim with Brooks on the field more, with Ugo Amadi as the lone extra defensive back in nickel.
In theory, anyway, playing six defensive backs would free Adams to be more of a wild card, to blitz or play closert to the line if offenses counter the dime defense by running the ball. If Adams blitzes in dime, five other defensive backs are still deeper to cover, in zone and man coverages.
Asked about why he didn’t play Neal more against the Rams, Carroll said: “That has nothing to do with it. Sorry, that has nothing to do with it.
“It was first and second downs, you know, and he plays in dime, third-down situations. Maybe we will resort to that. That was not in the game plan to be done this time, so that wouldn’t have made a difference.
“Because you brought it up,” Carroll added, tongue pretty much in cheek, “I’m going to check it out.”
He should. His best defensive playmaker from the team’s last win mostly watched all of Thursday’s big plays against the Seahawks.
One play after that 24-yard throw to Woods across midfield, Neal was again on the sideline watching Kupp beat linebacker Brooks across the field right to left, easily. Stafford pitched the ball breezily to Kupp for 33 more yards.
Those two big plays set up the decisive score: running back Sony Michel’s touchdown run of 2 yards that made it 23-14 L.A. with 6 minutes left.
“It’s super frustrating,” Diggs said.
The Rams scored 23 of their 26 points and 301 of their 476 yards after halftime.
“There was just too many big plays, Stafford hitting both Robert and Cooper over the middle. Those plays were field-changing plays,” Carroll said.
A pass rush would help
As with any secondary, especially iffy ones such as Seattle’s, pressure on the quarterback forcing him to throw it sooner and DBs to cover less sure would help.
Carroll said the Seahawks’ lack of pressure on Stafford Thursday resulted in gaps in coverage getting exploited.
Seattle had one sack (by Taylor) and three hits (two by Taylor) on Stafford’s 38 drop backs.
The Seahawks have 10 sacks in five games. Only two are by blitzers, by Wagner and by Brooks.
“They got in behind us in our zones and we didn’t have the pressure to kick the ball to get it dumped down,” Carroll said. “It’s football stuff. The things we have to fix, we have it clean up, get better at, and make sure we don’t allow that to happen again.
“The second half was a big explosion for them offensively and we really were in way better control of that, and really disappointed that we let that happen.”
Of Adams’ night, Carroll said: “Unfortunately on the big play (the 68-yard gain by Jackson), he didn’t find his way to the ball. They were very fortunate that that happened. We were over the top and had the guy doubled and all that kind of stuff, and I don’t even know why he threw it. But the fact that they did and they made a play, give them credit. It’s great play by their quarterback and by DeSean.
“You know, I’m not going after any one guy on anything about anything right now. It’s not the time.
“Go after me first.”
This story was originally published October 8, 2021 at 5:55 AM.
